Since July, Illinois Teamsters have been on strike against funeral home operator Service Corporation International, or SCI, because SCI didn’t offer a contract that the union found satisfactory. At first, the Teamsters fought their battle by aggressively picketing funeral homes SCI owns in Illinois. Among other things, strikers at Illinois funeral homes reportedly blocked mourners...

If an Illinois worker takes a pay cut during a recession, she knows the state isn’t going to take an even bigger chunk out of her paycheck. That’s because the state income tax rate stays the same. But if her home loses value, too, she could still see her property tax bill go up. Government...